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My experience working in tech jobs across the world has also shown me: while tech jobs are varied and diverse in SF and Silicon Valley, this is also where the industry ‘professionalized’ (and ossified, if you ask me) much earlier. So someone with no or very little experience is going to find it hard to break in, no matter what their nationality or immigration status.

It’s not as easy to ‘switch roles’ or ‘industries’ (in London or Berlin or SG I can easily see someone doing software dev at a fintech place then going to like consumer, not so here). You’re defined by the last job(s) you had. It’s also harder for people with non-STEM background to get in the way it used to be >10 years ago. The ‘office jobs’ like events planning or sales.. have also professionalized. You just do that thing and only that.

People are frustrated they don’t have a shot, especially when tech jobs feel like the only way to make a living wage these days in some cities.